The members of the Moffat County High School boys soccer team convene midfield with coach Harry Tripp during a practice session at the MCHS field. The boys and girls soccer teams will use the site for practices and games after years of playing at other locations across Craig.

The MCHS boys and girls soccer teams now will host practices and home games on MCHS property. This marks the first time in many years the program will be regularly on-site at the school.

For much of their history at MCHS since 1990, the teams have relied on other places across Craig to provide playing spaces, including Loudy-Simpson Park and Woodbury Sports Complex, both of which sometimes proved problematic, whether because of scheduling with other activities or seasonal weather conditions.

While the field at the school won’t be invulnerable to the elements — especially in the spring for girls soccer, which often is impacted by a winter holdover — the location will be far more convenient for players, said coach Harry Tripp, who will lead the boys and girls teams this year.

The biggest question was if the space, which previously all was considered a practice field for MCHS football during the fall, would be able to accommodate multiple sports. Tripp said he first approached former coaches Lance Scranton and Kip Hafey and Mike Taylor, Moffat County School District facilities director, about working out an arrangement last year.

“We sat down and looked at all that, came together and compromised so that we could squeeze it all together and utilize it so we could all use it,” Tripp said.

With two goal structures now on either side of one half of the field for soccer use and the football team taking up the other half, simultaneous practices have gone smoothly. The soccer team, which begins official games in September, also has begun scrimmages, most recently Tuesday afternoon in Granby.

Tripp said the biggest victory of this change is better associating the soccer program with MCHS, which always felt disconnected when teams played at other venues.

“We wanted to be able to maintain a home field advantage and get a home crowd there,” he said. “It’s a win-win all the way around.”